Dutch couple returns home to Turkey after month of struggle

UĞUR ERGAN

A Dutch couple who has made the Aegean province of Muğla their home has finally returned to the Turkish resort town after a month of being stranded in the Netherlands.

Martin and Brenda Ros, who have been living in Muğla’s Fethiye district for six years, had gone to the Netherlands to celebrate their children’s birthday in March. But as the pandemic began spreading rapidly and international flights were suspended, they could not return to Turkey.

Martin Ros, who has a heart disease, wanted to return to Fethiye because he has no health insurance in the Netherlands and was treated under the SGK, a universal health care insurance in Turkey.

While the couple applied to the Dutch Consulate with a request to return, the Turkish neighbors of the family also asked for help from the Foreign Ministry.

Upon this request for assistance, the couple were embarked on the evacuation flight from the Netherlands to Turkey on April 22.

After the 14-day mandatory quarantine, the Ros couple returned to their home in Fethiye, thanking Turkish officials.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu replied to the thank you message posted by Brenda Ros on her social media account.

“They [Ros couple] thank our country and our authorities almost every day. After returning to Turkey, they were also liked in the dormitory where they stayed. Dormitory staff also made birthday surprises to them. As of May 6, they left quarantine,” Çavuşoğlu said.